Take My Hand, I Know You'll Dance
by demonskie
Summary: Cheren, Bianca, and N find themselves abandoned by their friend when she joins Ghetsis in a bid to liberate Pokemon. Touko has always wanted Pokemon to be free, but she did not expect this. Pokemon BW AU where Touko/White joins Ghetsis first. Also, Lucas and Sky [Dawn] are two of the main characters, and have a sort of plotline of their own. [The romance genre will come in later!]
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:  
><strong>My first proper fanfiction story :') I know there's a lot of Pokemon fanfic out there, so mine may not get noticed, but I thought I'd give it a go!  
>This is an AU where the main female character of Pokemon BlackWhite joins Ghetsis in Team Plasma, and where N was never brought up by Ghetsis at all. They do have some connections, though, in the past. There are other things too, like the reigning Sinnoh Champion (DPP female protagonist) joining the party. She is named Sky in this story.  
>Just a little more info before you gave it a read. I'm labelled it a T because of harsh language, but there may be some stuff in the future that would be regarded as M. I'll be sure to note it in the chapter if there is!<br>Thanks for reading~

* * *

><p>Cheren was tired of this pretending.<p>

He wanted his friend back. His childhood friend, the one who had laughed with him and cried with him and explored with him. He would always have Bianca, he supposed, but that wasn't enough. He wanted it to be the same as it had been when they were young. He didn't want to fake his smiles anymore. He didn't want to pretend that everything was okay without her.

He stared up at the castle of the Champion, the one that had appeared when Touko had accepted Ghetsis's offer of creating a free world for Pokemon. Cheren had begged his friend not to go, but go she had, following Ghetsis without looking back.

Since then, he'd only seen her twice and talked to her once. Bianca had told him that she'd seen her four times, but three out of four of those times she had acted distant, cold.

This was not the Touko that the two friends had known. This Touko was different. She was no longer bright and cheerful and smiling. And that hurt Cheren more than anything.

"Staring won't solve anything."

A green-haired boy spoke from the shadows, and Cheren turned sharply to see N looking at him, a sad smile on his face. "She's not coming back," N told him.

"You don't know that." Cheren returned his gaze to the majestic piece of architecture before him; he had to admire Ghetsis's taste, even if he was an evil son of a bitch.

"Ghetsis will not let her go. She is powerful, and she has joined him. Even if she wanted to, she could no longer leave." N folded his muscled arms, his voice firm in his belief. "I know you want her back. I know you and Bianca both do. But there is nothing you can do."

Cheren snarled. "You don't know that," he hissed, and spun on his heel, walking back down Victory Road, leaving Touko behind.

"I do. You know I do. I have spent time when Ghetsis before, Cheren. I know how he thinks. And knowing Touko... well, she won't give up her dream of letting Pokemon be free."

He was right. And Cheren hated to admit it. A vacuum seemed to build up inside his chest, sucking everything in so tight that Cheren felt like he was choking. "I wish she would come home," he whispered.

"So do I," N said.

Cheren snorted. "You didn't even know her. You only met her a few months ago, when she was travelling through Unova's wilderness and found _you_ half-naked and hanging with Pokemon. You didn't even _like _her."

"That was then." Cheren heard the green-haired boy accelerate his footsteps, coming to walk beside Cheren. "I did not realise who she really was. What kind of person she was."

"Yeah?" Cheren snapped. He stopped in his tracks, spun around, and gestured wildly at the castle. "Did you realise she was _this _kind of person?"

"She is still your friend, Cheren. She is simply... looking for a way to achieve her dream."

"We could have helped her do that!" Cheren shouted, and a few Pidgey in a nearby tree fluttered off in panic. He lowered his voice. "Bianca and I... we could have helped her."

The two men lapsed into a silence that lasted the majority of the duration of their walk back to Opelucid City. Cheren walked at a furious, brisk pace, while the older boy's was more leisured, taking time to converse with the Pokemon.

When they finally reached the end of Victory Road, N said distractedly, "Ghetsis and Touko don't get along well."

Cheren's head whipped around. "_What?_"

"I said-"

"I heard what you said!" Cheren snapped impatiently. "How do you know that?"

"The Pokemon said so." N looked up and waved at a passing Braviary. Cheren could have sworn that it waved back. "They said that Sky comes to Victory Road to train sometimes, and then Ghetsis comes by to bring her back to the castle. Usually, their conversations end in arguments."

The dark haired boy had to admit: N's ability to talk to Pokemon was useful. "What do they talk about?"

N shrugged. "They said that by the time anything interesting would have cropped up, most of them were already out of the area. They don't like arguments, and they hate Ghetsis. Especially when he turns up with another Sage."

Cheren glared at N. "Well, was there anything else that they can remember about their conversations?"

"Yeah," N said. "Something about finding an stone? A colour rock or something? Light stone?"

Cheren's blood ran cold, and he called his Altaria out of its Pokeball. "Take me to Nacrene City," he commanded. Altaria gave a shrill call, and took to the sky.

"Hey!" N shouted. "What are you doing?"

"Getting that stone!" Cheren yelled back, and Altaria raced away to central Unova. Hopefully Cheren could get there before Ghetsis did.

* * *

><p>It was raining, and for the first time in her life, Touko welcomed it.<p>

This, at least, would delay Ghetsis's plans.

She did support Ghetsis, she supposed, in some things. But in others...

Touko had been the only one Ghetsis had confided his true plan to, and what a mistake that had been. Touko did not fully support him yet; she had joined him because she wanted Pokemon to be free and liberated. But that did not mean stealing Trainers' Pokemon and releasing them without the Trainers' consents. She only wished that Pokemon could be free, without having to obey their owner's every command. If the Pokemon wanted to stay with its Trainer, so be it.

However, when she realised early on that that meant releasing Pokemon from Pokeballs, she could hardly object to Team Plasma's ways, as much as she disapproved.

Haxorus smashed the rock closest to him, sensing his owner's irritation. They were once again in Victory Road, but not training, exactly. Just... staying. When Touko had seen Cheren and N appear on the road to Ghetsis's castle, she had frozen in horror. Surely they were not going to go to the castle?

She needn't have worried. They only stood on the road, conversing for a few minutes, before they retreated back down.

"Give the poor stones a break," a familiar voice said. It came from behind her, and Touko closed her eyes, hanging onto that lilting accent.

"N," she acknowledged. So much for not needing to worry about him. She did not turn around and face him. She could not bear to.

"Touko," he sighed. "What are you doing?"

"Standing."

"I can see that." There was a pause, during which time Touko felt colder and colder. "Why won't you look at me?"

"Perhaps I don't want to see your horrid face." Touko sensed rather than saw the older boy's smile. He knew she was just kidding. Plus, N hardly had a horrid face. It was actually quite a nice one.

"How are you doing?"

"I'd be better if you weren't here."

"Is that because you don't like me, or because you feel guilty?"

She stiffened, fighting the urge to turn and look at her green-haired friend. "I have nothing to be guilty for."

"Oh, really?" N's voice was oddly harsh. "What about Cheren? Bianca? Your parents? How about your brother and-"

"Stop," Touko snapped, and finally she turned around to face him.

He was as beautiful as ever. His skin looked pale in the cave light, and his blue eyes shone out at her. Her heart constricted. Ever since she had first saw him, she had felt that N had a kind of unique, ethereal beauty. He had a certain aura about him that was so different from anyone else.

"It's good to see your face, Touko." N smiled gently at her. "I haven't seen you in a while."

Touko folded her arms. "What do you want, N?"

For the first time, N looked genuinely hurt. "I just wanted to see you, Touko. You must know Cheren and Bianca miss you. Why don't you ever visit?" There was the sound of agitation in his voice. He ran a hand through his hair, looking frustrated. "We all miss you Touko. Why would you choose this?"

"You know why," she said quietly. "You need to leave, N. I'm sorry."

"I'm not going anywhere," N said. He sat down on a nearby rock, one large enough to support him.

"Yes, you are." She marched over and gripped his upper arm, glaring at him. He looked at her in shock. "Come on."

N rose to his feet, his expression hardening into ice.

"I'm sorry," she whispered to him as she pretended to push him. "But I think the Shadow Triad are watching."

Her friend stiffened. "Fine," he snapped. "God, and I thought we were friends." He spun on his heel and left, the set of his shoulders angry. It took Touko a moment to realise that he was just acting.

Touko sat down on the rock that N had just vacated. She pressed a palm to her aching head, trying not to think too much about N and Cheren and Bianca and everyone else.

A slow clapping filled the cave, and Touko looked up slowly. "You impress me, Touko," Ghetsis said. "I thought you'd maybe leave after seeing N, but you didn't. I appreciate your loyalty."

Touko stood, bowing her head to the most powerful Sage of Team Plasma. He smiled, his beautiful cloak shifting and shimmering. "I would never dream of leaving, Lord Ghetsis," she said.

"You keep telling yourself that." Ghetsis smiled again, more sharply than before.

Touko smiled a razor smile back. "I will."

"In the meantime, tell me everything you know about Sinnoh's champion." Ghetsis pressed his hands together in front of him. "She has been rather bothersome to my operations in Castelia. Her, and that infuriating gym leader Burke."

Despite being distracted by the surprise she felt at Ghetsis's question, she did think back to when _she _had been bothersome to Ghetsis, when she was going for her third badge. She remembered Bianca's Pokemon being stolen, encountering a Dragon-type trainer named Iris, and Burke. And Cheren, too.

"Are you referring to Champion Sky?" she asked Ghetsis softly.

"That's the one."

"I don't know much. I know she defeated Cynthia to become Champion, has a legendary Pokemon in her team, and likes to travel the world with her friend Lucas." If Touko had perhaps been paying attention to her elder, she might have noticed the glimmer of greed in his eye at the mention of a legendary Pokemon.

"Lucas..." Ghetsis mused. "I know of him. The famous Pokemon researcher, am I right? Took over Rowan's spot when he retired?"

"I think so." Touko glanced at the pale haired man, wondering what his interest was in the boy. "What has she done to piss you off?"

"The girl destroyed our facilities in Castelia, on the edge of the city, near Route 4. The most vexing thing about it was that _nobody_ knew about that facility except high ranking Team Plasma officials, like you and I."

Touko did indeed know about that facility, and was indeed surprised that the Champion had discovered it so quickly. "I guess she's Champion for a reason." Touko shrugged.

Ghetsis snarled. "I will _not_ have Team Plasma falling like Team Galactic! It will not happen! I refuse to lose to some petty Trainer." He continued to mutter to himself, his eyes glowing with anger.

"Are you all right?" Touko asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Touko, I want you to go and find as much information as you can on this girl, Sky. Everything." Ghetsis's eerie red eyes bore into her, and she fought the urge to flinch.

Touko did not want to be a stalker, but she was a part of Team Plasma, so stalking she would do.

"The situation at Nacrene City should distract the Champion from noticing you," Ghetsis said.

"'The situation'?" Touko quoted. She frowned, her brow furrowing. "What situation?"

"Nothing, really. Just some inconvenient Trainers getting in the way. They'll be dealt with soon." Ghetsis waved a dismissive hand and walked back up the route to the castle as Touko felt a shiver travel up her spine. These Trainers... no, surely not? Cheren wouldn't...

Of course he would, Touko realised. It was exactly his thing. And because of that, he could get injured, or even... die.

Touko swallowed against her suddenly dry throat. She found it much harder to focus on her task after that.


	2. Chapter 2

"Lucas! Goddamnit, _what_ are you doing? We need to go!"

Sky Rider glared at the head of her best friend, which was about all she could see of him. The Pokemon researcher was sitting behind a rather large rock in the desert area of Route 4. He appeared to be doing some kind of test.

"Just a moment, Sky." Lucas sounded a lot calmer than Sky did, which infuriated her. He was just so annoying sometimes...

"Seriously, Lucas, come on. I know the nerd in you wants to sample every single piece of dust in this damned area, but we _kind of_ have a meeting with Alder and Professor Juniper? _Remember_?"

"Hmm." Lucas did not otherwise acknowledge her words. She hissed and stormed over to him, too impatient to be waiting any longer. As she neared his position, a Sandile scurried away from behind the rock, wailing.

"Good job, Sky," Lucas observed, standing and brushing himself down. "You scared the Pokemon."

Sky rolled her eyes, and pointed at her face. "This is my I-don't-give-a-shit face, Lucas. It's just a bloody Sandile."

"You're so unappreciative of nature, Sky." Lucas adjusted his red cap, raising a grey eye at her. "It would do you some good to stop and observe the Pokemon and scenery around us."

"I observed them when I was waiting for you, and I got bored." She checked her Poketch, hoping that they could still make the meeting in Nacrene City without being late. Sky liked to be punctual. Late was not her thing.

It was, however, Lucas's. He liked to stop every so often and simply gaze around him, lost in thought. It caused him to lose track of time, and irritated Sky to no end. Honestly, sometimes she wondered why the two of them were even friends.

Then she remembered all the times he had saved her ass, and shoved her rude thoughts in the dumpster.

Beside Sky, her Aerodactyl growled softly. He'd been there for quite some time now, waiting patiently – unlike Sky – for the other Trainer.

Sky stroked his neck, and glared at her friend. "Hurry up and get Togekiss out," she said. "We're going to be even more late if we linger any longer."

It was Lucas's turn to roll his eyes. "You're so pushy, Sky," he said, before calling his Flying-type Pokemon out of its Pokeball. He climbed onto the back of Togekiss, and grinned a challenge down at the Sinnoh Champion. "Race you," he said, and took off.

"Hey!" Sky yelled, leaping onto Aerodactyl, who instantly flew off after Togekiss. "You could've given me some bloody warning!"

"What would be the fun in that?" Lucas called back. "It's not my fault you train every single day!"

Sky laughed. Lucas was right. She did train every day, and added to Aerodactyl's awesome speed, they managed to catch up to Lucas.

Lucas pointed at her. "Show off!" he yelled over the wind. She grinned.

"You're the one who asked to race!" she shouted, and shot forward with her was still laughing when Nacrene came into sight, but stopped when she saw the smoke.

Fear turned her blood cold, and she looked back and saw Lucas no longer smiling but in fact staring, shocked.

"Come on," she shouted. He looked at her and nodded, and together they raced towards the burning city.

The fire was coming from the Nacrene Museum, or in fact, the Gym. It was spreading fast, and Sky could see Team Plasma members and Trainers fighting on the streets. There was a fire fighting team attempting to put out the fire, but there weren't enough of them.

The minute Aerodactyl touched the ground, Sky tossed Froslass's Pokeball into the air, and she burst out. "Froslass, Blizzard, now!" She didn't need to say to only use it on the burning buildings.

The Pokemon generated a huge amount of snow and ice, but Sky did not stay to see Froslass hit the buildings. She turned and told Aerodactyl to not hesitate to knock out any Team Plasma members, and he took to the sky.

Sky ran to the Nacrene Gym leader, Lenora. Beside her, there was a dark haired boy with glasses, and a blonde girl, wearing a large green hat. "What's going on?" she shouted, barely heard over the cries of Pokemon in battle. The dark haired boy whipped around to glare at her.

"Who the hell are you?" he yelled back.

Sky fished out her Champion badge and flashed it to the boy's face. He looked shocked.

"Sinnoh League Champion?" he choked.

"That's right! Now are you going to let me help beat up these extremists or not?"

"Sky!" Lenora's voice cut through their conversation. "Thank God you're here. Team Plasma are here for the Light and Dark Orbs. We have to stop them!"

_Yeah, kind of figured that, Lenora._ Sky glanced around, looking for Lucas. She had not seen him since she had joined the chaos. She spotted a red cap and instantly felt relieved.

The Champion put her hand to her belt, where all her Pokemon were in their Pokeballs. She half-wished she had Dialga with her now; the legendary Pokemon could freeze, or at least slow down the battles and give them an advantage. Regardless, Palkia could be a good choice. She could feel the power radiating from its Pokeball.

She paused, her fingers on the ball, before she shook her head. No. She threw Luxray and Lucario's Pokeballs into the air instead.

"Luxray, Discharge on all the Team Plasma Pokemon nearby. Lucario, Aura Sphere on every Pokemon that Luxray doesn't get."

There was a kind of cold anger overtaking her, something she hadn't felt since her days battling Team Galactic. God, those days had been more like nightmares. The battles she had with the Admins, and finally Cyrus and Charon themselves...

She forced herself to shove the memories away. She could not get distracted now.

She whistled for Aerodactyl, who appeared instantly. She swung herself up, told Lenora she'd be back soon, and soared over the battlefield, looking for the person who was clearly conducting the whole operation.

_There._

An old man in important-looking clothes walked slowly towards a helicopter, several Grunts following behind and in front as guards.

"Aerodactyl, Aerial Ace, now." She wanted to take those Grunts out. "But don't harm them too seriously."

Aerodactyl gave a screech and dived down, fast as a bullet. Sky pressed herself closer to her Pokemon, making as little air resistance as she could.

When the Grunts saw Sky, their hands instantly went to their Pokeballs. But it was a bit too late for that, and Aerodactyl swept them all of their feet with his wings. Sky leapt off as Aerodactyl moved to take out other Team Plasma members racing towards them.

"Old man," she said, advancing on the leader, "what the hell are you doing in Nacrene City?"

The man's hand went to his Pokeball at his side. Sky's went to hers. She only had two Pokemon left with her, but these two Pokemon were good enough to take out anyone her opponent brought out.

"I am one of the Seven Sages of Team Plasma," the man said, drawing himself up. He glared at her. "Don't think you can ruin this operation."

"I'll do what I want." She let Infernape out. The monkey Pokemon's fire mane instantly flared up, and he snarled and bared his teeth. "I want you to call off your attacks. Or Infernape might cause some... accidents."

A flash of fear came onto the Sage's face, but Sky admired the way he held his head high. "I don't think so."

A familiar screeching filled the air, and Aerodactyl swooped down and yanked the old man off his feet, his talons digging into his clothes.

"Oh," Sky said, genuinely surprised. "Or Aerodactyl might cause some accidents. He's rather temperamental, you know. I'm sorry about this!" she called, as Aerodactyl flew higher and higher, the Team Plasma member in its grasp. The man was screaming, and Sky felt a vague pang of horror. She didn't really enjoy tormenting people, but after what had happened with Team Galactic (and then Team Rocket in Johto), she could not deal with extremist leaders.

Aerodactyl dropped the Sage.

"Aerodactyl!" she yelled at her Pokemon, shock and panic in her mind. She could have sworn he flashed a smirk at her as he suddenly dove after the flailing man, grabbing him in his claws a few metres before he hit the ground.

The old man whimpered. "Aerodactyl, you can't just do that!" She stared at her Pokemon. "Oh, my God!"

Aerodactyl paid her no notice, and scratched his nose with his wing.

"I'll do whatever you want," the Sage sobbed. "Oh, Arceus, whatever you want."

Sky scrambled over to the old man. "You going to have a heart attack?" she asked.

"I-I don't think so."

"Good. Call off your Team members now."

The Sage dug into his pockets for his Xtransceiver. When he found it, he spoke, his voice shaking, "Retreat! Return to headquarters immediately."

Sky leaned forwards, speaking low into the device. "And, if any of you have them, leave the Light and Dark Orbs. Or you can be torn to shreds by my Aerodactyl."

The Sage pressed his lips together. "We were losing, anyway," he mumbled. Sky stood.

"Leave," she said, her voice cold. She had a headache, and it was getting harder and harder to repress her memories.

The old man scrambled to his feet, and ran after his fellow Team members. They climbed in a helicopter and left, flying away hastily.

The rest of Sky's Pokemon team joined her, and they stood there, watching the helicopter leave. Infernape growled quietly.

"I know," she said, gazing up at the sky. "It's like Team Galactic all over again, isn't it?"

A hand touched Sky's shoulder, and she turned to see Lucas looking solemnly at her. "We will make sure Team Galactic never happen again," he said.

Sky's hand fisted at her side. "I hope it's not too late. Team Plasma is already quite powerful, and they are still growing. We have to do something about this."

"We will." Lucas drew his friend into a hug, and Sky, though surprised, hugged him back. "Nothing like Team Galactic will happen here. You can be sure of it."

"Champion." Sky lifted her head to see Lenora coming towards them, smiling. "Thank you so much for helping us out. We appreciate the help."

The dark-haired boy from before adjusted his glasses. "You didn't really do much, for a Champion, did you?" He raised an eyebrow at Sky, who blinked.

"Wow," Lucas said, taking off his hat. "Rude, much?"

The boy shrugged. "I'm just saying, you came a little late."

Sky laughed. "I don't really care about the opinion of a Pokemon-Master wannabe." She eyed the outline of a Badge Case in his jacket.

"I'm not a wannabe. I've already got seven badges."

Sky rolled her eyes. "Because that's such an achievement. What's your name, anyway?"

"Cheren." He folded his arms. "And it is a big achievement, actually, considering I only started going for the badges a few months ago."

"Cheren, stop it." The blonde girl put a frowning hand on Cheren's arm. She looked at Sky, and bowed. Sky blinked. "Thank you for helping us! My name is Bianca."

"It's fine," Sky said, with a wry smile.

"Why are you here, anyway, Sky?" Lenora took a step forwards, a puzzled expression on her face.

"Lucas and I had a meeting with Alder and Professor Juniper." A loud screech interrupted her words, and Sky looked up to see Aerodactyl circling the sky impatiently. She sighed, and returned her Fossil Pokemon to its Pokeball.

"What? But I thought they were in Opelucid City." Lenora frowned, and Sky felt shock, and a vague sense of horror run through her.

"I got a message from the Professor, look." Sky pulled out her Xtransceiver, and showed the Gym Leader the text.

"That's weird. Maybe I just didn't know." Lenora took a step forwards, her face etched with confusion. Behind them, Luxray let out a sudden, piercing snarl.

Sky whipped around. A tall man was standing amid the destruction, his gold and blue cloak fluttering out behind him. His green hair was long, and a red eye piece was fitted to his face.

Cheren inhaled sharply, but Sky only demanded, "Who the hell are you?" Her four Pokemon that were out of their Pokeballs hissed.

"Ghetsis," Cheren murmured softly.

"My name is Ghetsis," the older man said. "I am the King of Team Plasma. It's nice to finally meet you, Sky. I've heard so much about you from my Sinnoh friends."


	3. Chapter 3

Despite Cheren's anger, the young Trainer could see the way the Champion visibly tensed, and clenched her fists. Clearly, the Sage's words had had some effect on the girl.

Ghetsis had an affect on Cheren, too. The old man made Cheren angry, Arceus, so angry. He'd taken away Cheren's childhood friend. His organisation stole Pokemon and ruined people's lives.

Ghetsis was not a person Cheren liked to see.

"You don't look very kingly." Even though the Sinnoh Trainer's body was stiff, her voice was calm, relaxed. "You don't look like you have any friends either. And whatever they told you, it was probably all bad."

"Not at all," Ghetsis said. Cheren couldn't tell which statement he was replying to. "They were very kind when describing your character. I do believe it was... _arrogant, annoying, _and simply _a bitch._"

Sky unclenched her fists, cocking her head to the side. "I think you ought to get a dictionary, o-great King. Those aren't nice adjectives."

"I thought it was particularly kind, considering I'd have named you something a lot worse." Ghetsis took a step forwards, his shimmering cloak rustling with the movement. Cheren swallowed, his hand going to his Pokeballs. He didn't want Ghetsis to get any closer.

"Aw, I'm not that terrible, am I?" Something malicious glinted in the Champion's eyes, and Cheren found himself startled at the look. It was the look of someone savage, or willing to do what they had to. Cheren wasn't sure what he thought about that, but he did know that this Champion wasn't who he thought she was.

Before Ghetsis could reply, Lenora interrupted. "What do you want, Ghetsis?" she asked, her voice cold. "You will not get the Orbs."

Something harsh flicekred in Ghetsis's eyes. "Keep telling yourself those lies, Lenora. They won't come true."

The Gym Leader stood her ground. "Yes, they will," she said firmly.

"What do you want with them, anyway?" The Champion's friend – was it Lucas? – spoke up, his grey eyes curious. Cheren thought maybe he was a Pokemon professor, but he wasn't sure.

Ghetsis's gaze flicked to the boy with the red hat. "Lucas, is it? You're the child who took over Professor Rowan's place. How did that feel?"

"Empowering," Lucas said, mockingly. "Suddenly, I feel like I am able to take people's Pokemon and cause terror and horror all over the land and rule the whole region by myself, destroying anyone in my way because I am a tyrant. Oh, wait, that's you. Sorry, your question just made me feel so controlling."

It was the first time that day that Cheren saw Ghetsis lose a little of his composure. The Sage's mouth tightened into a line, his jaw flexing a little. A flash of anger appeared in his eyes, before instantly disappearing.

"I'm sorry I made you feel that way," he said smoothly. He opened his mouth to say more, but the Pokemon professor interrupted him.

"I'm sorry that _you_ feel that way. That you want to take over a region. What good will that do you? Also, you didn't answer my first question. What do you want with the Orbs?" Lucas's voice was confident and firm. Cheren had to admit, he was impressed by the researcher's attitude. Most would cower in fear when talking to Ghetsis, but...

Cheren recalled, then, that Ghetsis had mentioned 'Sinnoh friends'. And earlier, he'd overheard Sky and Lucas mention a 'Team Galactic'. And he'd also heard, as one does, that the Champion of Sinnoh had defeated Team Galactic pretty much single-handedly, though she'd had help from some of her friends.

Cheren thought that Lucas must be one of those friends. He was so confident in the face of terror that Cheren knew Lucas must have gone through it before. Him, and Sky.

"You're beginning to irritate me, Lucas," Ghetsis said, his voice low and dangerous, but still with a slightly cheery tone. "You don't want to do that."

Lucas raised an eyebrow. "I kind of do, actually. You're trying to form a sort of dictatorship, and I really disapprove of that. Perhaps if you stopped trying to do that, then I'd stop irritating you."

"Whoa," Bianca whispered in Cheren's ear, "he's pretty badass." Cheren turned to glare at his friend, rolling his eyes at the same time.

Ghetsis simply smiled darkly in response to Lucas's words, turned on his heel, and walked away.

"Why are we just letting him go?" Cheren demanded, finally finding his voice. "We should arrest him right now!"

"You a police officer, kid?" Sky asked, giving him an odd look, and returned her Pokemon to their Pokeballs. She put a hand on Lucas's arm, while raising an eyebrow at Cheren. "Can your Pokemon defeat his, and that army of team members hiding behind the buildings?"

Cheren jerked. "What army?" He craned his head in the direction Ghetsis had gone, but saw no one. "You're lying."

"Not lying," Sky answered. "Ghetsis would never come here without backup. And there was an army here just now, trying to take those Orbs."

Cheren scowled as the Champion turned to her friend.

"You're a fucking idiot, Lucas," she told him, and despite the fact that the words were not aimed for anyone else, Cheren felt the shock go through him. "Challenging the team leader like that! Don't you remember the last time that happened?"

The Pokemon professor smiled a lazy grin. "Yeah. I remember you and I kicked his ass."

"No, we certainly did not kick his ass. We barely touched it. We only just won, and you know it." She scowled at her friend, who shrugged.

"Well, we're both stronger now. We can take him." Again, Lucas sounded so sure of himself. Cheren really wasn't sure what to think of that.

"There will be no taking of anybody," Lenora said firmly. "Not yet, at least. First, we have to find a secure location for the Orbs. Does anyone have any ideas?"

There was a pause. "I could take them to Sinnoh," Sky offered. "There are plenty of places I could hide them over there."

Lenora began to nod, but then she stopped, looking troubled. "What if Team Plasma intercepts you? It's too far a journey to risk. Maybe we should just find somewhere in Unova."

"Let's talk about this somewhere else." Lucas stepped forwards, pulling up an electronic map from his Poketch. "How about we meet at Opelucid City, in two hours?"

"Fine." Lenora began to walk away, and then so did Lucas and Sky, who stood close as they walked.

"Wait!" Cheren called. "What about Professor Juniper?"

"What do you mean?" The three of them turned back to look at him.

"Well, didn't you say Professor Juniper sent you here for a meeting? But I know that she's not even in South Unova. She's on one of the islands in the North." Cheren adjusted his glasses, looking quickly to Sky and Lucas, who frowned simultaneously.

"Are you sure?" Sky pulled out her Xtransciever. "This message is definitely from Professor Juniper's Xtransciever." The dark haired Champion, lowered her arm, and looked at her friend. A subtle passed between them, barely noticeable. But Cheren noticed it.

"Why would she send you a message to meet here?" Bianca finally spoke up. She'd been pretty quiet for the last few minutes, simply standing by his side.

"Perhaps it wasn't the Professor that sent it," Lucas said. He took his cap off, brushing his hair with his hand.

Lenora's face drained. "Team Plasma?" she asked, shocked.

Lucas shrugged. "It might not have been. We don't know. But I think someone ought to find Professor Juniper, am I right?"

The Nacrene Gym Leader turned and ran back to the museum, presumably to do exactly that. Cheren stepped forwards. "What can we do to help?" he asked.

Sky gave him an odd look. "Whatever you want," she told him. She flipped open her Xtransciever and began dialling.

"Hey," Lucas said, grabbing her arm so she'd stop. "Are you about to call the Professor? Because I don't think that's really a good idea-"

Sky transferred her device from the hand that Lucas was grabbing, to the other hand, and continued the call. She put it up to her ear, raised an eyebrow at Lucas, who sighed.

Bianca looked wide-eyed at Cheren. "I hope she's okay," she whispered. It took Cheren a moment to realise his blond friend meant Professor Juniper.

"I'm sure she's fine," Cheren muttered back. Touko would totally freak out if she found out there was potentially something wrong Professor Juniper, the two were such good friends-

Cheren swallowed hard. Touko. Oh, Arceus. The pain in Cheren's chest became hard to ignore, and he had to force himself not to sit down suddenly. God, Cheren hoped she was okay. If she wasn't...

"She's not picking up." Sky's voice cut through Cheren's thoughts. "Should we call Alder?"

"I'll do it," Lucas said. Cheren heard the dial sound of the other boy's Xtransciever.

"Hey, you. Cheren, is it? Are you all right? You look like you're about to faint."

Cheren looked up to see Sky staring at him. "I'm fine," he muttered.

"You don't look fine. Look, you can leave, go get some rest or go win your eighth badge or something, I don't know. You don't have to stay here."

"Yes I do," Cheren said firmly. He looked at Bianca, who nodded. "We're sticking with you until we figure out what's going on." Perhaps the Champion and her friend could help them. They were certainly strong enough.

Sky groaned. "I don't want two brats hanging around doing nothing-"

"Shh." Lucas covered Sky's mouth with his hand. His other hand was holding his phone to his ear. "It's dialling."

Sky pushed Lucas's hand away with a sigh. "You're so fucking annoying," she said. Lucas shot her a grin.

A strange emotion pulsed through Cheren's veins at the sight of their exchange. Was it.. jealously? No, that couldn't be right... Why would Cheren be jealous?

And all of a sudden he knew. Cheren wanted a best friend like that. He wanted Touko back. He wanted to have with Touko (and maybe even Bianca) what Sky had with Lucas. He wanted it so badly his chest ached.

Suddenly Lucas's face changed. "Alder?" he said into the phone, and Cheren froze. Alder had picked up, then. "Alder, we've been trying to reach you, why haven't you- what? Who are you?"

This time, Bianca and Sky tensed too.

"You found the phone on the ground? Where?" Lucas listened intently for a second. "Castelia City? All right. Did you see who dropped the phone? No? Thanks anyway." He sighed, and looked like he was about to hang up. Then, "What? Yes, that's what I said. Yes. No, you can't keep it! It's not yours. It doesn't matter whether he's your idol or not! Look, we need that phone to find where he's gone. Are you willing to meet us at the central Pokemon center in half an hour? Yes? Thank you."

Lucas took the phone from his ear and flipped it shut. He breathed out a long sigh.

"What's going on?" Sky demanded.

"Some stranger found Alder's Xtransciever on the ground, and answered it. He said he'll meet us at the Pokemon Center." Lucas stuffed his phone in his pocket.

"Wait, what was that about keeping the phone?" Bianca asked, curiousity laced in her voice.

Lucas rolled his eyes. "The boy heard us say 'Alder'. He recognised the name as the Champion's name, and wanted to keep the phone as a souvenir."

Sky started laughing, leaned forwards, and whispered something in Lucas's ear, who started chuckling.

Cheren envied them. For a moment, Cheren wished he was back at his home with Bianca and Touko at his side, the three of them laughing together like old times.


	4. Chapter 4

Touko was beginning to feel like one of the Shadow Triad. Except they were a lot better at sneaking around than she was. And they probably didn't have a war of emotions going on inside their heads. Touko, however, did.

Seeing her friends had made the pain in her chest so strong that it almost choked her. God, how she had wanted to call out, to let Bianca and Cheren know she was there, and that she missed them. But she couldn't. And she wouldn't, if she wanted to stay on Ghetsis's good side.

Anyway, she had a job to do.

Scoping out the Sinnoh League Champion was a lot easier than Ghetsis had made it out to be. She didn't seem to notice Touko's presence at all, though admittedly the older girl was a bit preoccupied.

The situation with Alder and Professor Juniper had Touko puzzled too. If this were part of Team Plasma's plans, then Touko didn't know anything. And the possibility of her not knowing such a plan irritated her to no end. Not only that, but knowing that the Professor could be missing... Well, that wasn't something Touko liked to think about.

Touko watched the party of four from the second floor of the Pokemon center in Castelia City. The four trainers were sitting at a booth near a window, where Touko could view them from the balcony on the second floor. She could see which drink they had on their table, and also hear them, just.

"Are we sure this boy is going to come?" Sky asked.

Lucas shrugged. "Of course not." He said something else, but he said it too quietly for Touko to hear.

The Champion shifted. "...don't like this," she said. Or, Touko thought she said. Lip-reading wasn't as easy as it looked.

"Perhaps we should call Alder's Xtransciever again," Cheren suggested. Touko's chest squeezed painfully at the sound of his voice.

Sky shot Cheren an irritated look. "Why are you still here, again?" she asked.

To his credit, Cheren didn't back down. "To help," he said.

"There's nothing you need to help with." The girl raked a hand through her dark hair, her voice louder than before. Touko kind of wished it weren't that loud, because she didn't really want to hear the Champion anymore. She was getting on Touko's nerves.

"Let me rephrase," Cheren said. "I need you to help us defeat Team Plasma."

Touko did not miss the way Sky's hand tightened on her glass of water. "I've had enough of extremist groups for a lifetime," she murmured. "You'd think, after taking care of Team Galactic, we'd be given a break."

"Calm down, Sky." The Pokemon researcher, Lucas, did not look up from his Xtransciever. Touko wasn't sure about what he was doing, but she figured probably texting one of his Sinnoh friends. "We were given a break. I think it's a good idea to help with Team Plasma."

Sky scowled. "Team Plasma can go fuck themselves," she announced, and downed her glass of water. She slammed her glass back down on the table, making everyone jump, as well as several strangers walking past their table.

"Calm down, Sky," Lucas repeated. He put down his Xtransciever, and took Sky by the arm. He murmured something to her and Touko couldn't quite catch. The girl visibly relaxed, her grip on the glass loosening. She muttered something back to her friend, and he smiled. They were incredibly close, Touko realised, and also realised – and hated herself for doing so – that Ghetsis could use their bond against them.

Touko didn't usually try to think of all the ways to hurt a person. But since she'd joined Ghetsis, he'd asked her to do many things like this and ever since then, she couldn't help but think like that even when she wasn't on a mission.

Touko shifted in her position, suddenly aware of three presences around her. Slowly, she stood, turning her back to her friends, and said, "Afternoon, Shadow Triad. You can appear, you know."

One of them did. Touko had learnt awhile ago that his name was Kuan. "Lord Ghetsis wants to know what you have found." His face was blank under his mask.

"I found this task rather boring," she said, and he was not amused. She sighed. "I'm not done yet. Tell Ghetsis I will report back to him in the morning." She scowled at the man, and turned her gaze back to the group she'd been studying.

There were only three of them, though, and for a moment she panicked. What had she missed?

She scanned the Pokemon Center, and finally saw the boy; Lucas was talking to Nurse Joy, smiling and chatting animatedly. She said something, gave a sly grin – were they _flirting?_ – and gave him a glass of juice. She breathed a tiny sigh of relief as Lucas turned to go, but then that breath froze in her throat as she noticed Lucas had stopped.

And was looking right at her.

* * *

><p><em>Sorry for the short chapter, anyone who reads! I'll admit I enjoy writing from Sky's point of view more than Touko's, but Touko will have a lot more in the future. Also, sorry for the long wait, anyone who has been waiting!<em>


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